Clockwork
by Luca Calahan
Summary: It was supposed to be the beginning of a new life for Kakashi. It was, in all the ways he had never imagined. After being promoted to a Chūnin, Kakashi returns home to find his father dead, and the clock shatters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so I'm sorry if it's kind of bad... I don't think I got the personalities quite right, and I don't really like the beginning, but towards the middle it gets better. Enjoy (I hope), and please review!

* * *

With his new Chūnin flak vest tucked safely under his arm, and a small box in his hands, Kakashi Hatake looked to be in a rather contented state. The usually placid, indifferent child had a rare smile visible through his mask as he headed through the streets of Konoha, towards the Hatake estate. It took the newly promoted Chūnin only minutes to reach his home.

The house was silent - an eerie, disturbing silence, that seemed almost too void of sound to be right. The door's opening did little to help this silence, emitting not even a single creak as Kakashi pushed it open. Consumed by a blissful excitement, Kakashi failed to notice the absolute silence of the house as he entered. The boy slipped off his sandals quickly, and headed immediately into the living room, where he set down his Chūnin vest and the box he had been carrying on a small, round table in the centre of the room.

Kakashi paused for a moment, admiring the murky green shade of the vest. However, he soon tore his gaze away and turned to the box. In one swift movement, he lifted the cardboard tabs. He knew what it contained, of course, though the boy was still rather pleased to see the neatly stacked pile of unblemished kunai filling the box, insulated by several sheets of bubble wrap.

It was only when Kakashi reached into the box, lifting out a sheet of bubble wrap to reveal the kunai beneath - and in the process accidentally popping one of the tiny air pockets - that he noticed the heavy silence lurking within the house, disturbed by the sharp snap of air released from its bubble.

That wasn't right. Although Sakumo generally was quite quiet, the estate was never... like this. This was a different silence, one that felt wrong in every way. A dead silence.

Kakashi slowly rose to his feet, the single sheet of bubble wrap grasped loosely in his hand. Turning away from the living room, Kakashi ventured further into the house. With each step, he was reminded how utterly _wrong_ the silence was. His soft footsteps seemed to be swallowed by this silence, consumed immediately with no chance to linger in the tense air.

After only two minutes, Kakashi found him.

Sakumo's study was no different from the rest of the house - silent - yet in a way, it almost seemed to breach the point past silence - no, this was more than that. This was not simply the absence of noise - it was as though every sound in this room just stopped as soon as it begun. There was no echo, no fade. The carrying of sound here simply was not possible. And yet... even if such carrying of sound had been possible, it was unlikely Kakashi would have noticed. No, this boy was much too preoccupied at the moment.

From where Kakashi stood, Sakumo almost looked peaceful, as though he had simply grown tired and curled up to sleep on the floor. Of course, all that was in Kakashi's view was the man's back.

Cautiously - as though he were attempting not to disturb the silence, and with it, his father's rest - Kakashi circled around the elder Hatake, peering down at his father's still, silent form.

Too still.

Too silent.

Kakashi knew. He had known from the moment he set foot in the room, if not earlier, what he would find when he looked upon his father's face. And yet... this prior knowledge did little for him now. It did not numb the shock of seeing his father's pale face, eyes blank as they stared off into some other realm, features slack, yet in some way troubled.

For a moment, Kakashi simply stared, gaze drifting slowly over Sakumo's form, and lingering on the tanto protruding from his father's gut, blood still leaking out onto the floor, seeping deep into the wooden planks, pooling around Sakumo.

Some distant, subconscious sense in the young chūnin told him that the moment would soon be over, yet Kakashi felt no such release from the shock.

His movements slow, careful, Kakashi knelt, near the corpse's face. He barely noticed as the blood - his father's blood - percolated his pants. The child simply blinked, slowly, as though he were in a trance. Like all his movements, the boy was sluggish as he slowly lowered himself fully to the ground, shifting onto his side as he pressed his face against the wooden floor, blood immediately staining his pale skin.

Kakashi lay there, a mirror of his father, staring into the man's dark, unblinking eyes. And, although his fingers did methodically, subconsciously flex, pressing the air out of bubbles, the room still did seem, somehow, silent. The snaps - like the mechanical ticking of a clock - did nothing to hide what lay before the boy. And thus, the dead silence remained.

* * *

Minato Namikaze frowned, glancing up at the rapidly setting sun for what was at least the fifth time in the past minute alone. The fiery orb in the sky was his clock - and it certainly seemed to be one that troubled him greatly at the moment.

Kakashi was late.

If it had been Obito, or even Rin that the Jōnin awaited, a late arrival wouldn't have fazed him in the slightest. However, this was Kakashi. Kakashi was never late.

Running a hand through his bright hair in frustration, Minato released a sigh. Their meeting must have just slipped the boy's mind, right? There was no reason to worry, Minato told himself insistently.

And yet... Minato knew he was wrong. Kakashi never forgot.

Minato approached the Hatake estate in a rather concerned manner. In the time it had taken to travel across Konoha to the home of his student, his anxiety had only grown. He was now certain that something was wrong.

Reaching up to knock sharply three times on the door, Minato had already begun to assess the front of the manor, searching for a way in. He expected no answer, a deep, nauseating, and doubtful intuition that gnawed at him from the inside out. It took the man only seconds to locate an unlatched window adjacent to the door.

Swiftly, Minato pushed the window open, clambering quietly inside. Immediately, the dreadful silence hit him. Against his will, the Jōnin shuddered, disturbed by this unnatural silence. However, as he strained his hearing, his ears were greeted by a faint sound.

 _Snap._

 _Snap._

 _Snap._

The clicks were steady, like clockwork, coming from somewhere within the house. Minato dared not disturb this eerie almost-silence, and elected to search for his student rather than call out.

The living room was empty. A newly commissioned Chūnin flak vest sat on a circular, central table, aligned neatly with a small cardboard box, though there was no sign of another person in the room.

Minato moved from room to room, scanning each carefully, as he made his way deeper into the estate. Finally, the man came across one that, unlike the others, held human life.

There lay his student, curled on the floor, a crimson liquid staining his skin where it touched the wooden planks. The boy could have been motionless, if not for his fingers working methodically on the sheet of bubble wrap clutched tightly in his hands, and the slight rise and fall of his chest as he stared vacantly into the eyes of another, who seemed to be a larger, mirrored version of himself.

It took Minato only a moment to realize who this mirror image of his own student was - Sakumo Hatake. It took him only a second longer to feel the simultaneous relief and horror as he realized the blood staining the floor was not Kakashi's.

* * *

Somewhere in the distance, a voice was calling his name. Kakashi registered this only on the most vague of levels, and for some time, it failed to register with him that this voice truly was here, penetrating the silence of the manor.

Even as Kakashi did become aware of the voice, it was in gradual stages. First, it was simply a warm presence in his mind. The voice, although it did disturb the dead silence surrounding him, was not sharp. It was calm, soft, gentle. Unlike so many voices in this world, this voice was not a threat.

"Kakashi..."

Kakashi... that was him, wasn't it? That name was... his.

"Kakashi..." The voice repeated, with only a hint more urgency in it.

Now, the voice became familiar. Kakashi knew now why it seemed to cause him such comfort.

"Kakashi... are you..." Minato trailed off. While he was usually so smooth with his words, language seemed to fail him now.

Slowly, the young Chūnin turned his head, eyes following sluggishly to meet those of the blond-haired man who crouched behind him. For a moment, the silence remained, although the boy did open his mouth. Finally, he spoke.

"Minato-sensei..." His words were quiet, though definitively audible.

"I... I'm here, Kakashi." Minato cursed himself silently for lack of better words, though he knew not much could be said in this situation. All too soon, however, he was drawn away from his thoughts.

Kakashi broke.

It was like watching the face of a clock shatter. While the boy had always been so methodical, steady, and composed, the young shinobi who now lay before Minato was infinitely different. All at once, the composure that had held strong on Kakashi's face for so many years fell away in pieces. His jaw trembled, eyes wide and shining with unfallen tears. His breath, so measured and calm before, came in short, erratic gasps. His hands snapped into tight fists, disrupting the constant snapping of bubble wrap, the ticking of the clock, with one sudden cascade of pops.

"Minato-sensei..." Kakashi repeated, though it were as though the words were in a different language entirely. Before, they had been so calm, and quiet. Now, the boy's voice quivered with fear, his words dripping with grief and the tears that had yet to breach his eyelashes.

"Shhh..." Minato whispered, reaching down to wrap his arms tenderly around the boy, drawing him up, off the floor and in close, holding him against his chest, "It's okay, 'Kashi... I'm here..."

In Minato's arms, the last of Kakashi's composure fell away, as tears slipped from his eyes and his breaths became heaving sobs.

"Minato-sensei..." Kakashi sobbed once more, his tone desperate and pleading, for any sense of grounding or comfort.

"Shhh... It's okay, it's okay... It'll be okay..." Minato whispered, and although he knew that it was likely a lie, in that moment it was all he could do for the broken clock in his arms. All he could hope for was that someday, that clock may tick once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Chapter two! Thank you to Golden Jones, who actually reviewed the first chapter! And, thank you to everyone else who's taken the time to read so far!

* * *

It was an ironically beautiful night considering the circumstances, Minato pondered as he stepped out of the Hatake estate. The air was warm, though a constant cool breeze prevented one from being bothered by the warmth. The moon was particularly bright that night; Minato surmised that it must be somewhere near full.

In his arms, a quiet yet violently shuddering Kakashi lay, curled in towards him. His short, erratic breaths could be heard through the silence of the night, though there was no voice in them - simply the displacement of air. Kakashi did not wail, and had ceased his repetition of his sensei's name soon after Minato had stood, cradling Kakashi in his arms.

Although it was dark, and not many would be up at such an hour, Minato knew that his student would only be further distressed if one were to see him in town. Thus, Minato elected to avoid the streets as he proceeded back to his apartment. Awkwardly, he brought his hands together in front of Kakashi, balancing him carefully on his arms, and formed the seal of confrontation. The flying raijin took effect almost immediately.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice as they materialized in the living room of Minato's apartment. With his head buried in the crevice between Minato's chest and his own, he certainly wasn't watching the world.

Minato paused, considering for a moment what to do with the boy in his arms. He wanted more than anything to help, but he wasn't entirely sure how. Seeing as Kushina was out on a mission, and wouldn't be home until sometime tomorrow, he had no one to consult. Minato supposed he could call Jiraiya, but he worried that the more crowded Kakashi felt, the more anxious he would become. Ultimately, it would likely do little good to call the aid of another.

Ignoring the blood clinging to Kakashi and himself - it was drying anyways, and could always just be washed out - Minato lowered Kakashi onto his couch, taking a seat beside the young Chūnin, who had quickly pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms tightly around them and burying his head in the crevice between his knees and his chest.

Minato watched the quivering boy for a moment, sympathy clouding his azure optics, before standing, heading to the adjoined kitchen. He stayed alert for any changes in Kakashi's demeanour as he opened the fridge, removing a small bowl of rice. It was unlikely Kakashi had eaten since lunch, and hunger would do him little good. Minato quickly heated up the rice as he retrieved a glass and filled it with cold water. Once all was prepared, he returned to Kakashi's side, cautiously sitting back beside him.

"Kakashi... You need to eat." Minato's voice was soft and gentle, layered with sorrow for his student.

Kakashi neglected to look up; he shook his head minutely, remaining in his compacted form.

"'Kashi... Please..." Minato sounded as though he were pleading now, the pain in his voice clearly evident. He could hardly bear seeing his student like this, so broken and defeated.

Kakashi looked up slowly, cheeks stained with tears and features clearly showing his distress. With a shred of hope, Minato held the bowl of rice out to Kakashi, along with the glass of water. Kakashi took one glance at the rice before looking away quickly, as though nauseated. However, his gaze returned after a second, and a moment layer, he extended a hand to take the glass of water.

Minato released a quiet sigh of relief - atleast his student was somewhat responsive. He watched nervously as Kakashi rose the glass to his lips, and swiftly consumed every last drop it contained. With a slightly trembling hand, he held the glass back out to Minato.

"Could I... Have some more?" Kakashi murmured quietly, avoiding Minato's gaze.

Minato was slightly taken aback, and hesitated a moment before responding, "Yeah."

Several minutes later, after having downed three more glasses of water, Kakashi sat facing Minato, holding his gaze.

"Do you need anything?" Minato asked, his tone still very calm and measured. He was surprised at how composed he had been able to remain throughout the ordeal.

Kakashi shook his head, blinking slowly.

"You should get some rest, Kakashi."

Kakashi gave no reply to this, simply glancing down, away from Minato.

"You're exhausted. Kakashi, you need to sleep."

Kakashi hesitated a moment, before looking back to Minato, and giving a small, reluctant nod. Before Minato could say any more, Kakashi had dropped his head to the end of the couch, curling onto his side, arms still wrapped tightly around his legs.

"No, Kakashi. You're taking my bed." This time, Minato's voice was firm, yet it maintained its calm, gentle composure.

When Minato received no reply, he was rather surprised. It wasn't like Kakashi to fall asleep so shockingly quick, nor was it like him to sleep deep enough to be undisturbed by a voice so close. It went lengths to prove just how exhausted the boy had been. With a sad smile, Minato slipped his arms under Kakashi, and lifted him carefully from the couch. From there, he carried the young Chūnin to his bedroom, and laid the boy down with extreme caution, as to not wake him. After pulling the covers over Kakashi's still slightly quivering body, Minato settled in a chair in the corner of the room, watching his student with tired eyes until he, too, was claimed by sleep.

* * *

The ceiling was brown. Why was it brown? It should've been brown, but not that brown. It was a different brown. This wasn't right.

And... Where was all that light coming from? There were no windows in his room. It should've been dark, but this was so unbearably bright.

Furthermore, what was that smell? No, it wasn't a smell, exactly... A smell was specific, could be pinpointed and described accurately in just a few words. This was more of a scent - a vague, mingling combination of many smells, to make up a single environment. It was familiar, in a way, a pleasant, calming scent that reminded him strangely of home... Though, certainly not of his home. No, this was a different home.

Then it hit him, as Kakashi emerged from the realm of sleep.

Minato-sensei's home.

What was he doing here? How had he gotten here? What was going on?

Kakashi was no longer asleep, as he jerked upright and cast a confused, sharp gaze around the room. This certainly was Minato-sensei's home - there was sensei himself, sleeping calmly in the corner.

"Minato-sensei," Kakashi called, the volume of his flat, indifferent tone moderate as he attempted to wake the man. When he received no response, Kakashi tried again.

"Minato-sensei!" His voice now held a hint of urgency, by which Minato was quickly awakened. Slightly disoriented, the Jōnin took a moment to take in his surroundings, his gaze finally reaching Kakashi and lingering there.

"Oh..." Minato breathed softly as recollection of the previous night flooded back to him.

"What am I doing here, Minato-sensei? Should I remember?" Kakashi questioned, a rather insistent tone in his voice.

"Ah... Do you really not remember anything?" Minato inquired, slightly apprehensively.

Kakashi shook his head, waiting expectantly for Minato to elaborate.

"Okay... Well..." Minato hesitated a moment, taking a deep breath. This would be difficult, to say the least. After a moment, Minato stood, and made his away over to the bed, taking a seat beside Kakashi.

"Take a deep breath," Minato advised, looking to Kakashi after a second of silent contemplation.

"What?" Kakashi returned, utterly confused.

"Just... Do it. Breathe." Minato replied, readying himself to say what had to be said. Once he was satisfied that Kakashi was breathing well enough (although, truly, there had been no fault in his breathing before), Minato forced himself to speak.

"Kakashi... Last night... Last night, I, ah..." Minato silently scolded himself for how clumsy he was with his words at the moment. It should have been simple, to just say the words, yet it seemed to be extremely difficult, physically, to force them out.

"Last night, you, I- I'd assume, found your father dead. I... I don't know what happened, but I found you just... Just lying on the floor, with him. I... I'm sorry, Kakashi."

Kakashi's well-rehearsed breathing ceased. The boy froze, not a muscle in his body moving. His dark eyes grew wide and unblinking, locked with Minato's gaze as they were enveloped by shock.

Minato watched sympathetically as his student receded into shock - and failed to notice for no less than twenty seconds that Kakashi's breathing had not resumed.

"Kakashi..." Minato started, growing more urgent when the boy gave no reaction. "Kakashi! Breathe, Kakashi."

Kakashi blinked, slowly, and finally drew in a short, sharp breath.

"S- sorry, could you - could you say that a- again?" Kakashi stuttered weakly, his breaths becoming shallow and erratic, yet present.

"Your... Your father's dead, Kakashi. I think... Well, from the looks of it, it was suicide."

Kakashi, obviously making a conscious effort to remain calm, drew in a long, shaky breath, and let it out. With this newfound information, memories of last night were beginning to flood back.

Blood. There hadn't even been that much of it relatively, but just the memory of it, staining the wooden planks and seeping through his clothes, was sickening. That wasn't all, though, Kakashi realized as more visual memories infiltrated the primary focus of his mind.

His father's face. So unnaturally still. People always said that faces looked calm after death, but after last night, Kakashi certainly disagreed. Sakumo's face had not been peaceful - it had been troubled, much too troubled.

A wave of nausea overcame Kakashi, and he struggled to resist the urge to gag as the memory of the livor mortis returned. It had been so... Not right, all the blood pooling in Sakumo's side, leaving the rest of the already pale skin a ghostly, pallid tone.

As Kakashi recovered from this wave nausea, however, he realized that still, the memories were not done their assault. The silence. The eerie, wrong silence that had consumed the house, dampening every sound immediately. And more so, the fear. Kakashi remembered it clearly now. The fear, the panic, the shock, the anxiety... It had been overwhelming, such a buildup of these foreign emotions.

And the tears. Kakashi could feel them now, a reminiscent tangibility from the past, he figured. After a moment, he realized that these were not a memory. In the current moment, tears slipped freely from his eyes, leaving glistening trails on his pale skin.

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut, dispelling a few unfallen tears. Beside him, Minato moved to get up, surmising that the boy would want his privacy.

"Minato-sensei?" Kakashi begun, drawing Minato's gaze as Kakashi's own dark eyes opened again, "Could you... Could you stay, please?"

His voice... Even to Kakashi himself, it sounded so weak, broken, like it had cracked and was on the verge of shattering.

"Oh... Yeah," Minato replied, giving Kakashi a vague, reassuring smile. That had certainly been unexpected, Minato thought as he settled back onto the bed, beside Kakashi.

For the second time in his life, Minato watched as Kakashi shattered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** This chapter's a bit shorter, but I love how the final scene turned out. I actually cried while writing it, and I don't really cry a lot! Enjoy!

* * *

"I- I don't- I can't- I-" Kakashi gasped desperately for air as he attempted to speak. Minato, having already dealt with one of Kakashi's hyperventilation sessions, looked on with concern.

"It's my fault- My fault, my fault, my fault," Kakashi repeated shakily, his entire body trembling and rocking, "I killed him... If only I- I had just come home. Or- Or stayed home he would be- He wouldn't be- I killed him!"

"No, Kakashi, no, it's not your fault. Not at all. None of this is your fault," Minato responded immediately. He had watched Kakashi slowly degrade over the past ten minutes, seemingly becoming more and more convinced that he was responsible for Sakumo's death, despite Minato's best attempts to persuade him otherwise.

 _Any sane person would've given up by now,_ Minato thought, watching Kakashi sympathetically. _Although, if I have to be insane to help him, I guess that's fine._

Finally, aid came to Minato.

From the adjoining room, and the external door within it, a voice rang out.

"Minato? Are you okay?" Kushina's concerned yet slightly skeptical voice wafted through the apartment, bringing great relief to Minato.

"I'll be back," Minato told Kakashi quickly, hesitating a moment before turning and heading out of the room.

"Oh, Kushina, thank goodness," Minato breathed in shaky relief, "I'm fine, it's just... Kakashi, he's..."

"He's... ?" Kushina wasn't being much help, Minato decided.

Minato hesitated a moment, though broke quickly under the pressure of his wife's expectant gaze, "Sakumo killed himself yesterday. And, ah... Kakashi found him."

Minato looked as though he wanted to say more, though remained silent. Kushina stared at Minato for a moment, rather shocked, before rushing past him into their room, with an urgent, maternal instinct to come to Kakashi's aid.

Minato watched his wife go, before turning back to the living room. Knowing Kakashi would be in good hands with Kushina, Minato collapsed. Although the couch was no more than a step away, he elected to slump to the floor, leaning back against the couch.

Minato was exhausted. He had no idea how to handle this situation he'd been thrown into - he'd never even considered the possibility of Kakashi requiring emotional comfort. It was one of the most stressful things the Jōnin had ever experienced - watching someone break down and being helpless to do anything about it. Watching someone you cared deeply about was another story entirely.

Ten minutes later, Kushina emerged from the bedroom. Minato immediately looked up with a hopeful gaze, which was returned by a sad smile from Kushina.

"He's, um..." Kushina trailed off, unable to find the right words. Minato required no more explanation, nodding with a sigh. Kushina dropped to the floor beside him, observing her husband with a worried gaze.

"Are _you_ okay, Minato?"

"Yeah, I just..." Minato looked up, focusing on Kushina's dark blue eyes, "I want to help him, but I don't... I don't know how, and... It's painful, Kushina. _Physically_ painful."

Kushina gave no reply. Instead, she leaned into Minato, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Minato sighed, resting his head against Kushina's.

"He'll be okay. It might take a while, but... Kakashi will be okay."

* * *

The day passed as to be expected - Kakashi was rather quiet, for the most part. He had remained in the bedroom for the entire day, silently sitting on the bed as he stared off, seemingly beyond the wall that remained in front of him for hours. Minato had tried to approach him several times, though he hadn't received much of a response, and had quickly given up.

It was that night that Minato found Kakashi, sitting on the roof, staring up at the stars. The moon's pure white illumination of Kakashi's face seemed to make his skin seem even paler, and created an illusion that his hair, now washed of the blood, was glowing a bright white.

"Kakashi... We need to talk," Minato voiced apprehensively as he took a seat beside Kakashi on the roof.

"Hm?" Kakashi's quiet reply came without much interest; he seemed rather distracted.

Minato hesitated a moment before speaking, "There's going to be a funeral held in three days. I... I am _not_ saying you have to go. Just... If you want to, you can."

Kakashi remained silent, though he had obviously registered what Minato had said. Nervously biting his lower lip, Kakashi looked away, curling the fingers of one hand inward into a tight fist.

"Just think about it. You can let me know tomorrow."

* * *

Tomorrow came quickly, it seemed, as the sun rose to cast an eerie, red glow on the boy, sprawled peacefully on the roof. Minato had been slightly concerned about the safety - or rather, lack thereof - of sleeping on the roof, but he'd decided to let it slide.

"Kakashi!" Minato called up from the silent street, shielding his eyes from the sun. Kakashi, having been awake for several hours, sat up quickly, looking down to Minato expectantly.

"I-" Minato stopped almost immediately, having grown tired of yelling. He swiftly leapt to the roof, taking a seat beside Kakashi.

"I'm not going," Kakashi said immediately, staring off at the horizon.

"Okay, that's fine. Today, though... If you want, we can go over to your house, so you can collect some of your things. I notified the ANBU yesterday about... Well, about what happened, so your father..." Minato paused, searching for words, "He won't be there. But... There might still be some blood."

Kakashi considered this for a moment, before nodding trepidatiously.

* * *

After Minato had forced some food into Kakashi, the two headed over to the Hatake estate. As they approached the manor, ducking under the tape marking it as a crime scene, it was obvious that Kakashi's anxiety was only growing. Minato, having opened the door and stepped inside, looked back to Kakashi expectantly, who hesitated on the porch. After a minute, Kakashi nervously slipped inside.

There it was. The silence. The silence that was simply wrong.

Kakashi drew in a sharp, shallow breath, quickly letting it out.

"Minato-sensei, I-" Kakashi stopped, inhaling again, a shuddering gasp, "I don't want to be here. I- I can't."

"Are you... Are you sure, Kakashi? We don't have to stay long, but they probably won't let you back in here again. It's crime scene protocol, we're not actually allowed to be here right now," Minato explained.

Kakashi considered this, before looking back to Minato, "Okay... I can't- Not for long, though."

Minato had noticed his student's strained breathing almost immediately, though he had elected to leave it alone until it escalated to a more severe level.

Kakashi, by his sensei's side, looked around the house with wide, fearful eyes as they made their way through the dark corridors. As they turned the corner, however, he stopped immediately.

"Kakashi? What's wrong?"

"I- I can't- I don't- I can't- I- I-" Kakashi was fully hyperventilating now, his breaths rapid and shallow. His small frame was shaking violently as he stared into Minato's azure eyes.

"Okay, it's okay. Just... Slow down. Breathe. You're breathing way too fast right now, you need to slow down, okay?" Minato approached Kakashi quickly, dropping to his knees to match the boy's height.

Kakashi nodded shakily, fighting to draw in a decent, deep breath.

Minato realized now, what had been so wrong other than the house itself. Just behind him lay the door to Sakumo's study.

Although Kakashi fought to keep them in, tears slipped from his dark eyes, and soon, he was sobbing uncontrollably. Minato placed a hand on his student's shoulder, pulling him into a firm embrace.

"Minato-sensei..." Kakashi whispered, burying his face in Minato's shoulder.

"Shh... It's okay... It'll be okay..." Minato replied softly, holding the trembling boy firmly against him.

"No it won't," Kakashi shook his head, gasping for breath as his voice grew louder. "It's _not okay_ and it will never _be okay_! Why can't someone just see that for _once_ , and acknowledge the fact that this is _not okay_?!"

Kakashi pulled away from Minato, tears clouding his vision.

"You all just run around, singing about how everything's fine, everything's going to be fine, but it's not! And no one ever even _acknowledges_ that fact! Why can't- Why can't we just realize when really, there is nothing good about a situation and accept that fact?! Why- Why do we _have_ to make everything _okay_?! Because- Because how is _any of this_ okay?! My father _killed himself_ because this world was so _not okay_ , and we're just going to say that _that's_ okay?! Tell me, Minato-sensei. Tell me. How is _any of this_ okay?"

Minato watched Kakashi in shock for a minute, the weight of what Kakashi was experiencing hitting him. This was not simply a child's grief process.

"I... I'm sorry, Kakashi," Minato replied quietly, shaking his head, "I'm sorry... Because you're right, and.. And it _really_ is not."


End file.
